Manufacture of structural material.



G. E. DUNCAN & J. PAWELLN MANUFACTURE OF STRUCTURAL MATERIAL.APPLICATION FILED 111111.10,1011.

1,0?1,71 8. Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

tlliiTltilD TATE$ PATENT UFT TGE.

CHARLES E. DUNCAN, OF SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO, CANADA, AND JOSEPHFAWELL, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA; SAID DUNCAN ASSIGNOR TO SAIDFAWELL,

.MANUFACTURE OF STRUCTURAL MATERIAL Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 2,1913.

Application filed March 10, 1911. Serial No. 613,822.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, Cannons I). DUN was,residing at Sault Ste. Marie, Province of Ontario, and Dominion ofCanada, and Josi-zrn FAWI-ZLL, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county ot'Allegheny and State of Penn sylvania citizens of the United States, haveinvented or discoveredcertain new and useful Improvements in Manufactureof Structural Material, of which improvements the following is aspecification.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, the lower flange of an Ibeam or other structural shape when arranged horizon tally on separatedsupports, forms the most important element in sustaining the load andthat such portion of the flange which is farthest from tli'""iieutral""axis of the beam 5. (a. the lowermost portion of said flange,will be subjected to the greatest strain. llenre in the manufacture ofthe beams care should be taken that no flaws or defects are produced inthat portion of the flange and that the metal should not be put underinjurious strains.

7 Two forms or types of mills are now generally used in the manufactureof beams, etc. The first consists of two high or three high rollshaving; grooves progressively varying in eontoin' and dimensions. 1 s iswell known to those skilled in the art the reducing or shaping surfacesformed by the walls ol the grooves vary greatly in peripheral speed,especially if the flanges to be formed, are wide. By reason of thedill'erence of rate of movement of portions of the reducing surfacesfrom that of the article between the rolls and the fact that the rate ofmovement ol? the walls of the. grooves which shape the flanges, ditl'ersmost greatly from the rate of movement of the article, the metal of theflanges is subjected to great strains and there is a tendency to tearthe metal thereby forming cracks in the sur faces of the flanges,especially the outer surfaces due/to, the grinding and tearing actionwhen the reducing surfaces slip along the gradually stiii'ening metal.in the other form or type of mill, generally known as a universal mill,consisting of horizontal and vertical rolls, the rolls are adjustable toell'ect the required variation of dimensions of the pass, between barkand forth passes between the rolls. In this mill the operative surfacesof the horizontal rolls are so shaped as to impart to the article whilethe web is being reduced to gaggthe required contour to the inner facesof the flanges. in other words the horizontal rolls are formed withcollars having eross sectional shape and dimensions mil-responding tothe portion of the beam within the flanges. These collars displace themetal vertically to form the web of the beam. The sides of the collarsdo not effect any substantial lateral displacement of the metal, theysimply serve as internal support for the metal which is to term theflange while the latter are being shaped and brought to size by thevertical rolls, which are adjusted inwardly toward each other after eachpass. In thus rolling the beam the largest periphery of the horizontalrolls will have the highest peripheral speed and the rate of movement ofthe article through the rolls will be approximately the same. But theperipheral speed of the sidesof thecollars is slower proportionally totheir distance from the axes of the rolls and hence ;these surfaces willtend to have a retarding effect on the metal adjacent thereto. Thevertical rolls, which operate on the outer faces of the flanges, willunless positively driven have a peripheral speed approximately equal tothat of the article between the rolls. It will be readily understoodthat as the metal in contact with the sides of the collars must bedragged along by the conjoint pull of tops ot the collars and thevertical rolls, there will be a constant tendency to tear the metal,producing cracks transverse ot the direction of movement of the article.'lhese cracks, it formed, are closed up and not visible, and even it notformed the tearing action of the rolls will have a weakening ellect.This weakening, of the web and the inner faces of the flanges does notseriously atlect the beam, but the weakening ot' the outer faces of theflanges when the beam is so placed that one of the flanges will be intension, is believed to be detrimental. The invention described hereinhas for its object the production of a structural shape in such mannerthat the outer faces of t e flanges will be substantially free from enas or injurious strains.

The invention is hereinafter described and claimed.

more lully is broken down in a blooming or universal.

mill and partially shaped. During this operation, reduction is effectedat all points without any injury to the metal as it is so hot andplastic as to readily yield and fiow under the pressure of the rollswithout any tendency to tear. As the reduction continues the portionswhich go to form the flanges become thinner and cooler and the metalless plastic, so that in subsequent reductions the chan e of sha )e isdue mainl to flow under pressure and to some extent to a tear nglof themetal, producing cracks and strains. At about the time or preferablyjust before the metal reaches this criti cal temperature, which will bereadily recognized by the skilled rollers, the blank is reduced /to or]approximately to the depth (the distance between the points ce-o in thedrawing) required in the finished beam, so that no f rther working orreducing action of the o1 ter faces of the flanges required while p Itions of the blank between planes coincidi g with the outer faces of theflanges ,s being reduced.

lVhil" for reasons hereinafter stated it may be; desirable toprogressively change to small Xtent the depth of the blank such change!is not due to any reduction or working off the metal of the outer facesof the flanges. The blank having been reduced to or approximately to thedesired depth at aboutf the time stated in subsequent opertion should bewithin plancscoinciding with,

ations the depth is changed if at all by a stretchingof portions of themetal between the finished outer faces of the fianges' At this timethe'blanlfwill have a criirtoi'i'Fsiib stantially similar to thatindicated by the full lines in Fig. 3 and all subsequent reducthe outerfaces of the flanges 2. These rereduction of the blank or in a universalmill duction.

as slated be effected in a universal or a two ductions may be effectedin a two high orv three-high mill. having grooves or passesformedtherein suitable for the progressive in which the vertical rolls,having been adjusted a distance apart equal or substan tially equal tothe desired depth of the beam, will not be substantially changed duringre- VVhile the desired reduction may high mill, it is preferred toemploy a universal. mill of the type shown and claimed in theapplication of Joseph Fawelhfiled February 3rd, 1911, Serial No. 606417in which the blank is reduced in a series of fixed. passes each formedby two horizontal and two vertical rolls. lVhen employing this mill thedimensions of the operative portions of the horizontal rolls are changedfor each pass as indicated by dotted lines of the flange will in a twohigh mill simply slide along the reducing faces of the rolls to anextentequal to the difi'erence of speed of the article and the roll faces; andthe same is true when a universal mill is employed but not to so greatextent, hence there will not be any tendency to so tear the metal as toproduce cracks or strains.

It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, that if thevertical rolls 4: of successive passes or stands of rolls, are 5arranged the same distance apart as for ex: ample twentyfour inches,some positively acting means will be necessary to cause the article toenter successive passes. In order to avoid the use of such feedingdevice we prefer to arrange the vertical rolls of successive passes alittle farther apart. As for example if rolling a twenty-four inch beamthe first pass for the blank would have the vertical i'olls arranged alittle less distance than desired in the finished beam but slightlygreater, an eighth of an inch more or less than the depth of the blankto be fed into such pass. With such a difference between the depth ofthe beam and the dis- 1 0 tance between the vertical rolls the blankwill readily enter and when subjected to the reducing action of thehorizontal rolls 3, will be spread until its flange faces are supportedby the vertical rolls as shown in Fig. 5 1. In the next pass or stand ofrolls, the vertical rolls 5 are arranged a little farther apart, say aneighth of an inch more or less, than the rolls 4; as clearly indicatedin Fig. 2. In all the successive stands or passes the vertical rolls arearranged a greater dis tance apart .than in the preceding pass or stand,the distance between such fiolls 12 in the last or finishing pass beingequal to than. desired in thefinished article. It will be observed thatin this method of rolling the vertical rolls do not efi'ect in and ofthemselves a reducing action which is accomfl plished by the horizontalrolls as befor f} stated. The vertical rolls simply serve as anvils orsupports to hold the flanges in position to be acted on by thehorizontal rolls.

in Fig. 3 the dotted line (I. indicates the dimensions and contour ofthe blank and the lines I), c, (X, etc, indicate the shapes anddimensions produced in successive passes. it will be observed that inlieu ol the vertical rolls acting to reduce the tra'i'isverse dimensionsof the blank in directions parallel or ap n'oxiniately parallel with theweb, there is a small progressive increase in depth and that the outerfaces of the flanges of the beam are outside oi the finish line of anyof the preceding passes. This small and gradual change is notduete anyreducing action of the vertical rolls on the flanges but to a gradualprogressive transverse stretching of the metal of the web by the\vedging in action of the collars on the horimntal rolls.

So far as reduction is concerned the flanges are finished externally inthe last pass of the blooming or blanking mill or in the first pass ofthe finishing mill as before stated.

We claim herein as our invention: 1. The method herein described of manufacturing structural material, which consists in reducing in successivepasses an inget or billet in one direction, approximately to its finaltransverse dimension and partially reducing portions of the ingot orbillet, in other directions, reducing in closed passes such partiallyshaped portions to final dimensions, and during such reductionpermitting an increase of said transverse dimension.

The methodherein described o't' manufacturing structural material, whichconsists in forming a blank having a depth less than that desired in thefinished article, reduring such blank to the finished article andchanging the depth of the blank by predetermined increments while soreducing.

P3. The method herein described of manu- 'lacturing structural material,which consists in .lorming a blank by reducing an ingot or billet in alldirections, the reduction in one direction being approximately tofinished dimensions, finishing the blank by re d action within theplanes ol the extremities of said finished dimension and during suchreduction, increasing" by predetermined amounts, the dimensions oi" theapproximately finished portion.

4. A plant for rolling structural material, having, in combination aseries of stands ofrolls, each consisting of a pair of horizontal and a,pair of vertical rolls, the vertical rolls ol successive stands beingarranged a sulliciently greater distance apart than those of thepreceding stand as to permit the free entrance of the material betweenthe vertical rolls.

5. A plant for rolling Lbeams, having in combination a series stands ofrolls provided with reducing passes increasing progressively in depth orthe distance between the faces of the passes operative onthe outer facesof the flanges as to permit the entrance of the material into successivepasses.

l'u testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands.

CHARLES F. DUNCAN. JOS MPH FAWEL'L. Witnesses as to Duncan:

(licoiun-i U. Sarnns, JonN Truman. Witnesses as to Fawell:

()sean Bimsm-nin, E. H. llasriait.

